SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neptune Financial Inc., or NepFin, a financial services firm, announced today that it has launched the first online commercial lending platform for mid-sized U.S. businesses, creating a new source of credit as well as business software solutions for a large, thriving sector of the economy whose borrowing options are limited.
NepFin also announced that it has raised a $10-million Series A round led by Sands Capital Ventures with participation from its existing investors. Michael Raab, Partner at Sands Capital, will join NepFin’s board, which already includes Third Point’s David Bonanno, currently a board member of SoFi, as well as Robert Schwartz, Managing Partner at Third Point Ventures. This round brings NepFin’s total capital raised to $13 million.
“They have developed an innovative way to compete in a lending space that has not changed for decades,” said Michael Raab of Sands Capital, explaining the firm’s investment in NepFin. “For hundreds of thousands of mid-sized businesses looking to borrow, there aren’t many options that provide a smooth, transparent experience. NepFin is now offering something newer, faster and less expensive—and we are very optimistic about its strategy.”
NepFin, whose platform has digital solutions built from the team’s years of experience in online lending and traditional finance, says that its focus is on one of the most underserved sectors of the broader U.S. economy – businesses with between $10 million and $100 million in revenue. NepFin provides loans of up to $60 million.
“This market represents such a significant driver of the American economy, but hasn’t seen many technological advances in a long time,” said NepFin CEO and co-founder Albert Periu, previously Global Co-Head of Capital Markets at Funding Circle. “With commercial banks leaving the market, mid-sized American companies see increasingly few options to fund their growth, and the options currently available to them lack efficiency and transparency into the process.”
“We are stepping into this massive opportunity,” says Periu, who co-founded the firm in 2016 with Thomas Meister, formerly senior counsel at Funding Circle. “NepFin is bringing customer-friendly, technological solutions to an industry that for too long has lacked a digital upgrade.”
NepFin’s tools include an online dashboard for businesses and intermediaries to easily share, manage and track documentation, which creates a frictionless application experience for borrowers and their partners. They are also leveraging machine learning and data science to lower costs, allowing NepFin to target areas of the market less economical to traditional lenders.
About NepFin:
Neptune Financial Inc., or NepFin, is a next-generation financial services company. NepFin’s commercial lending platform provides growth capital and software tools to mid-sized American businesses. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, NepFin is supported by the same early-stage investors as SoFi, Funding Circle, Lending Club and Upgrade. Co-founders Albert Periu and Thomas Meister launched the company in 2016 after working together as executives at Funding Circle. NepFin’s platform serves one the most underserved sectors of the broader U.S. economy – businesses with between $10 million and $100 million in revenue. NepFin provides loans of up to $60 million. For more information please visit www.nepfin.com.
